Determinants of Patient Satisfaction in the Surgical ward at a University Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Objectives, to determine the factors that affect patient satisfaction in the surgical ward of a university hospital and provide useful information for the hospital management, wishing to improve patient satisfaction in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2011 till to August 2011 in the surgical ward at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.. A patient satisfaction questionnaire was administered to the first 95 patients ready for discharge from the hospital during the study period, and we obtained data from patients who rated their satisfaction with care provided. We analyzed the data to identify potentially modifiable factors associated with dissatisfaction. Results: The patients included 55 males (58.5%) and 39 females (41.5%). The average age of patients was 45.9 years (range 15-83 years) and the average length of stay was 6.43 days (range 1-50 days). The overall satisfaction rate was 89.6%. The level of satisfaction was high regarding the explanation of the on call doctor about the operation in the emergency department (75.5%), Doctor's reception in the clinic (81.25%), surgical team reception in the ward (79.75%), Response of the team about the patient's questions (71.75%), and Safety level in the hospital (74.75%). The lowest level of satisfaction was for the waiting time in the emergency (40%), the waiting time in the clinic (62%), the response of consulting doctors of the other departments (60.75%), the explanation of the surgical team about the life style after operation (53%), and the quality of food in the hospital (56.75%). There was a strong relation between the patient dissatisfaction and patient's age (P value: 0.003), gender (P value: 0.001, with more female satisfaction), and duration of hospital stay (P value: 0). Conclusion: In a studied area, the factors that influence patient satisfaction are old age ( > 50 years old), male gender, waiting time in emergency department and out-patient department (clinic), quality of food, quick response of consulting doctors of other departments, explanation of surgical team about lifestyle after surgery (eating habits, wound management, having shower and exercise), and length of hospital stay. We recommend the hospital management to address these factors to improve patient satisfaction. [Saleh M. Aldaqal; Hattan Alghamdi; Hassan AlTurki; Basem S. El-deek and Ahmed A. Kensarah. Determinants of Patient Satisfaction in the Surgical ward at a University Hospital in Saudi Arabia. Life Science Journal 2012; 9(1):277-280]. (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 38